1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for interconnection to canisters such as reverse osmosis membrane canisters or filters used in water purification systems and more specifically to a universal multi-port connecting device in which the ports thereof can be designated for input or output, depending upon the position of a hole drilled in a port barrier for directing the flow of a fluid therethrough.
2. Prior Art
It will be seen hereinafter, that the present invention comprises an improvement to relatively specific prior art comprising a dual-port interconnecting device, the purpose of which is to provide input and output connection capability to a certain type of canister, generally of elongated cylindrical configuration. More specifically the canister with which the noted prior art, as well as the improvement of the present invention are designed to be used, provides a unitary multiple-flow-path port, which simultaneously provides an input fluid-flow path, as well as an output fluid flow path to convey fluid both in and out of the canister. Typically, such canisters comprise housings for a reverse osmosis membrane and/or filtering media such as carbon or the like, which is known to remove certain solid particulates or gases from a fluid such as water. Such filters are typically used in water purification systems such as reverse osmosis water purification systems in which the reverse osmosis membrane thereof works best when the water to be purified is first filtered to remove large particulate material which might otherwise more rapidly tend to clog and otherwise reduce the operating life of the membrane. In addition, reverse osmosis systems typically employ post filters, that is, filters which receive the water that has passed through the reverse osmosis membrane and may still be improved, as far as taste and impurities are concerned, by passage through an additional filter. Often, depending upon the nature of the impurities in the water, one or more additional filters positioned before the reverse osmosis membrane of the system, may be used to further improve the quality of the water through the system by removing certain ingredients such as particulates, chlorine, and the like, which may otherwise constitute a health threat or have an adverse effect on the life of the membrane.
In the past, such filtering canisters have been provided with two separate and distinctly located ports, one comprising an input and one an output for interconnection into the reverse osmosis water purification system. However, recently there has been an improved canister configuration advantageously used for filters in water purification systems. Such canisters provide a single or unitary port having multiple flow channels therein to enable interconnection of such canisters into a system for input and output, while using only one interconnecting device. Such improved canisters can substantially reduce the labor and hardware requirement for fabrication and assembly of such reverse osmosis water purification systems. In addition, use of such canisters of a generally standard shape and dimension, tends to improve the functional and aesthetic configuration of the system into which such canisters are installed.
Unfortunately, as will be seen hereinafter, while such canisters provide a significant improvement in the art of reverse osmosis water purification systems, the connecting device designed to interface with such canisters and specifically with the multiple-flow-path, unitary port thereof, has been configured somewhat disadvantageously. More specifically, in such prior art connecting devices for the aforementioned improved filter canisters, only two ports are provided, one for input and one for output and such ports are at two different levels, thereby making it less convenient to interconnect such devices for fluid flow between such membrane or filter canisters. Furthermore, one port of the prior art connecting device is configured so that it can only interface with one of the canister flow paths and the other port of the prior art connecting device is configured so that it can only interface with the other such flow path of the canister device. Furthermore, the respective port configurations of the prior art interconnecting device are relatively large and bulky, rendering them difficult to interface mechanically with other structure within a reverse osmosis water purification system.
Thus while the prior art canister configuration provides a significant improvement in the art of fluid filtering and in the art of reverse osmosis water purification systems, the connecting device designed to interface with such improved canisters, while functionally adequate for performing its task of providing interconnecting ports thereto, suffers from a number of significant disadvantages. These disadvantages significantly detract from the efficacy and functionality of the prior art improvement derived from such unitary multiple-flow-path port canisters. There is therefore accordingly, a need for a connecting member, adapted for interfacing with the aforementioned prior art canisters as well as with other canister designs and which overcomes the deficiencies noted above. More specifically, there is a need for connection devices which provide more than just two ports. Furthermore, there is a need to provide a connection device in which all ports are at the same level to facilitate interconnection in a system. There is furthermore a need to provide a connection device for such canisters wherein each of a number of ports can be relatively easily allocated for interconnection to any of the multiple fluid paths in the canister port without any substantial mechanical modification that would otherwise detract from the efficiency and advantages of the aforementioned prior art canister. There is furthermore a need to provide a connection device for the aforementioned canisters wherein the physical configuration thereof is more conducive to interconnection within a system, such as a reverse osmosis water purification system, for increasing the convenience of both mechanical and fluid flow interconnections thereto.